The present invention relates to a digital integrated apparatus and an image control system.
FIG. 22 is an explanatory drawing of a conventional typical image control system, the construction of which is explained hereafter together with its actions.
First, in the state where a original image is set on a scanner 101, (the user) starts an image data acquisition means 104 working on a personal computer 103, and issues a command for reading original image. This image data acquisition means 104 transmits an operating command to the scanner 101 through a SCSI cable 102, and the scanner 101 reads the image in units of line, units of fixed block or units of page by driving the image sensor.
The image data generated with this reading is delivered to said image data acquisition means 104 through the SCSI cable 102, and then stored in the hard disc of the personal computer 103.
In the case where there exist a plural number of sheets as original image set on the scanner 101, an auto document feeder (ADF) provided on the scanner 101 automatically feeds the sheets for reading the following original image successively.
Next, the image data stored in the hard disc of said personal computer 103 is transmitted to a server device 200 through a trunk network 400, together with attribute information such as image size, image reading date and time, etc. of that image data.
The server device 200 stores the acquired image data on the hard disc, and registers said attribute information supplemented by pointer information indicating the address of storage, in the data base 201.
As described above, by integrally controlling the image data generated on said personal computer 103 with the server device 200, it becomes possible to display said image data by using a display program 301 of other personal computer 300 connected to the trunk network 400.
However, to register image on a conventional image control system, the user had to execute separately, after obtaining an image from the scanner, an operation of transmitting the acquired image data to the server device 200.
This transmission, which required such operations as selecting the image data file to be transmitted from among the files stored on the hard disc, specifying the server device 200 as destination of transfer, etc., presented a problem of complicated operations by the user.
The object of the present invention, proposed in view of said conventional circumstances, is to provide a digital integrated apparatus and an image control system capable of registering images with simple operation.
The present invention adopts the means described below for achieving said object. Namely, as shown in FIG. 1, in the present invention, as the start button 14c provided in the digital integrated apparatus 10 is turned on, image data is generated by an image input means 12a while attribute information is generated by an attribute information generating means 13. These image data and attribute information are transmitted, by a transfer means 16, to a network address stored in an address storing means 17, and are stored in a storing means 27 of a server device 20. These image data and attribute information are made public by a publicizing means 22 of the server device 20, and submitted to perusal by a perusing means 33 of a peruser device 30.
Said processing of publication and perusal is made possible as a publicizing means 22 publicizes a list corresponding to the respective image data and the perusing means 33 transmits, to said peruser device 30, the image data corresponding to the one specified from among that list.
Said attribute information includes such information as machine ID unique to each digital integrated apparatus connected to the network, image ID unique to each image data, user ID unique to each user, access right to image data, etc.
Moreover, a miniature image generating means 18 for generating miniature image data of image data is provided on said digital integrated apparatus 10 side. And the transfer means 16 transmits this miniature image data together with image data and attribute information and the attribute information includes pointer information indicating the address of storage of said miniature image data. Thus it becomes possible to display this miniature image on said list.
Furthermore, a characteristics extracting means 23 for extracting data from prescribed position of the image data is provided on said server device 20 side. In addition, the attribute information includes pointer information indicating the address of storage of the characteristic image generated by said characteristics extracting means 23. This makes it possible to display characteristic images on said list. It is also possible to construct (this image control system) in a way to provide, on said digital integrated apparatus 10 side, a characteristic image synthesizing means 18 for combining specific image at said prescribed position of image data.
The same effects may be obtained also with a construction in which said storing means is provided on said digital integrated apparatus 10 side, in place of the storing means 27 provided on said server device 20 side.